Family Magazines' Mommy Makeover Spotlight

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In our continuing commitment to providing the necessary resources Moms require in every area of their life, helping you walk that very fine line between being Super Mom and a balanced, healthy woman, we are very pleased to offer monthly Mommy Makeover tips and news from the professionals who have the knowledge and skills to help you look and feel your very best.

This Month's Spotlight: Dr. Anna D. Guanche of the Bella Skin Institue

You know her from her numerous appearances on TLC's "10 Years Younger". Dr. Anna is a board-certified dermatologist and dermatologic surgeon who specializes in aesthetic procedures, caring for all types of skin conditions with a special emphasis in the areas of cosmetic dermatology and laser surgery. More than simply a businesswoman, Dr. Anna was recently asked to join the Dermatology staff at UCLA Medical Center, Olive View, where she has agreed to volunteer her time to aid in the training of residents and medical students. Although drawn as a young woman to the performing arts, she ultimately found her calling in science and medicine, and after twelve years of rigorous training, Dr. Anna has found art again as she "is now able to express herself creatively in the world of aesthetic medicine." According to the Doctor, "every patient is a unique palette of conditions, goals and temperament that require delicate consideration, and sometimes inventive solutions." Dr. Anna is well suited to finding those solutions. In her practice, she provides "the entire gamut of dermatologic services, including medical dermatology, injectables, laser treatments and surgery." This wide range of possibilities when evaluating a patient allows her to combine treatments, tailoring them to provide the patient with results ranging from subtle to dramatic. The most important thing to note about Dr. Anna is that she strives to listen to her patient's and fully understand their specific goals and concerns before proceeding. Her joy is infectious, and you just know she does her best to provide you with a satisfying experience as she endeavors to "take the pain out of beauty".

Dr. Anna now reaches out to you, our readers, to provide monthly advice and a treat or two that you might win! Read on for more details.

Fraxel® Laser Cures your Hangover by Dr. Anna D. Guanche

Can your skin have a hangover? Yes!

The summer is full of outdoor activities including poolside and oceanside vacations, sports and barbeques. What happens to your skin during this time? Some people protect themselves with sunscreen and hats, but the vast majority of people like to have a golden "healthy" tan. Unfortunately, this tan glow turns into wrinkles and brown spots within a few weeks. Luckily, light peels and laser technologies such as Fraxel® can reverse these signs of aging with minimal downtime.

After UV rays from the sun hit your skin, your body produces more melanin pigment. The purpose of this pigment – effectively a tan-is to protect the skin from UV rays. The actual globules of melanin absorb and reflect UV rays so that they will not penetrate and damage DNA. Unfortunately, it is not a perfect system, and damage does occur. Until about age 30, people develop their tan evenly, but as sun damage accumulates, the pigmentation on the face, arms and V of the neck becomes patchy and mottled. It is composed of various sized brown spots (lentigenes) and lighter spots (idiopathic guttate hypomelanosis). The skin texture also changes, so that there is dryness and wrinkling. Small growths and even pre-cancers are more common in chronically sun-exposed areas.

So what happened? The healthy glow turned into a skin hangover.

Usually around October or November, the tan has faded. The kids are back into their routine at school. Suddenly, dermatologists around the country see a peak in office visits: the holidays are coming and people want to reverse these changes-quickly!

Skin Resurfacing has been around for many years. It is a controlled method of removing layers of skin and allowing the body to heal and replace these layers with new ones, removing wrinkles, brown spots and signs of aging. The older modalities required one to two weeks-sometimes up to two months of downtime.

A new laser technology called Fraxel® delivers the resurfacing laser energy in fractionated points. This technology allows 20 to 25% of the skin surface area to be treated at a time (the whole area is treated, but the fractionated points comprise 20 to 25%). Usually, a series of 5 treatments is recommended. The downtime is dramatically reduced, while the results are phenomenal!

For more information, please visit www.bellaskininstitute.com.

Enter to Win This Beauty Treatment!

Moms, looking to refresh in time to take on the New Year in style?

You take care of the kids all year long. Now it's Mommy-Time!

Register today to win a renewing Fraxel® Laser treatment (a $1250 value), the latest in long lasting skin renewal with no downtime! Winners will be treated by none other than Dr. Anna D. Guanche!

To enter, just e-mail us at sweepstakes@familymagazinegroup.com and include your name, phone number and e-mail address by December 31st, 2007. Be sure to put "Fraxel® Laser Treatment" in the Subject Line! Good luck!